Welcome to our first official meeting of 2026. Um, can we stand for the pledge of >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the stand with liberty and justice for all.
>> Can I get a roll call for attendance? Mr. Small >> present. >> Miss Kovas Caravo not here. Miss Enriquez >> present. >> Mr. Organ >> present. >> Miss Valdas
>> present. >> Dr. Neville >> present. >> Miss Carell >> present. >> Miss Hernandez >> present. >> Mr. Gomez Pereira is not here. We have seven present and two absent. Thank you very much.
Um, we'll move on to Dr. Ala for special recognitions. So, uh, first I would like to have, um, Maria Adams come up to the Dis over here to your left and Maria is going to share
a poem that she wrote and shared with all of um, Chelsea Children's Cabinet. and she got a standing applause when she shared it with us. And I thought it would be appropriate to start the year off with a poem from one of our amazing
students. She is a senior and is busy applying for colleges and getting ready to be launched and graduate in um in June. >> [applause] >> So, this piece is called the garden of
voices. To plant a garden is to watch things grow. You bring your supplies and all the garden hoses and the compost, all the gloves and the soil and the pretty little garden boxes with painted flowers all over them. You also bring hand
weeders to pull, pluck, and yank out any imperfections for the perfect little garden. You plant us in nice, neat rows, our names written in popsicle sticks, our roots tucked in just so as if growth could be scripted. Some of us sprout
fast, our stems straight, our petals bright. You smile at us, water us gently, show us off to visitors. But some of us twist towards the light in ways you don't you didn't expect. Our fruit grows lopsided, our colors m mixed in strange ways. You call us warped, but
have you ever tasted us? Sometimes the sweetest fruit is the ones that fought hardest for the sun. And then there are the weeds, the ones you say don't belong, too wild, too loud, too stubborn. You pluck us out before we can even bloom and wonder why your garden
feels emptier each year. A garden without wild things isn't really alive. Because every plant, every weed, every strange and beautiful fruit has a story worth listening. So listen not just to the voices you planted, but to the ones growing through the cracks. We're not
asking for the perfect soil, just the chance to grow, to speak, to be seen. Thank you. [applause] [applause] original original work by Maria Adams. And I'm sure down the road we will hear more about Maria. She's an amazing poet
and writer. And uh Maria, I'm so fortunate that I got to write a letter of recommendation for you. And I had so much to say because I I've known you since seventh grade and I just when I I turned around and said, "You're a senior." [laughter] It's like, "Where
did time go?" But it's just been wonderful to watch you grow up and um I'm excited for your future. Okay. And then the next thing is a special award that we have tonight and
this is our outstanding service recognition. And if I can call up Dr. Jennings and Mr. Malik Hussein to to share a little bit with Han to share a little bit with us too. Um but first um first group of
students I want to recognize are our students who helped us with the They're the interact student officers and they helped us at Chelsea Reeds. They volunteered one day at at the library on a Saturday very early
and they were such great volunteers that I heard nothing but wonderful reports about the students. And then when talking to the students, they said that that was a highlight for them and that they really enjoyed working with everyone at the library that day. and
they were there for a very long time in costumes, [laughter] elephant and pig I believe. >> And um and they just said they just enjoyed giving. So what I'd like to do is have um two of our cabinet members
say a few words about them. I know Dr. Jennings and and Malik, Mr. Hian, they oversee help oversee the Interact Club. So if you can say a few words as well. >> Yeah, thank you Dr. Ba. Um it is an absolute honor for both of us to come and speak on behalf of the students of
of Interact as well as the wonderful adviser that that we have for Interact. Uh we're both Rotary members along with Dr. Beta and Interact for those who don't know is the school extension of Rotary Club which is a which is an organization that is dedicated to service. Uh so we started it two years
ago. Um and we it was lightweight work because when we were able to find and we were lucky to have such wonderful student leaders um they really drove the bus. Um we've been able to work in support uh for a year and a half now and
the level of service and dedication to the community to their schools is second to none. um whether it's reading at the library um working on a new proposal and Mary doesn't know this yet to volunteer tutor over at the Clark to be at the Christmas tree lighting to ringing the
bell when it was about - 10° uh the Salvation Army bell one one one evening that we were um lucky to to participate over at Market Basket. The students are just absolutely amazing. Uh it's an honor to to to work with them, to meet with them, to talk with them, and then obviously to give them some awards
tonight. And I just want to highlight the leaders, the student leaders, all the student leaders in the organization. I believe the the group has 35 members and all of the members embody what the Chelsea Rotary Club believes to be true
of service above self. I particularly want to highlight the four officers, Chris, David, Farooq, and Harris. Um these four uh and and also um also Gabrielle. Um
these um five gentlemen, young men are fine examples of what it means to be um a a student at Chelsea High School, what it means to be a leader, what it means to carry um the red the the the red the
the honor of of our of our great city. And so I just want to say commend commend them. Um it's it's been a pleasure to see them grow as student leaders um this year and even last year. Um, and so I just want to say thank you for your leadership and thank you for leading the rest of the team that you
all have. It's also an honor to see your chats across um, Google Classroom when you are reminding students, reminding your peers to come to meetings. And so I just want to um, publicly salute your leadership and I think well of you all and we'll surely miss your leadership when you graduate.
And then for another another group of kids that also rang the bell, the Salvation Army bell at um Market Basket. And I wish I could have been there. I took the morning shift and I didn't realize that you guys were ringing the bell later. And I was like, that's not
fair because Dr. Jennings and and Malik, they they rang the bell. Got to ring the bell with the kids and I was just ringing the bell on the freezing cold at 10:00 a.m. But um we do have we we wanted to just say honor you, honor your leadership, honor who you are as, um
young adults who contribute to the community and and not only that, you do it with a smile. And then when we see you at the high school, you you are models and we're just so proud of you and we we are it's it's a joy to work
with you. You're working with you is our greatest joy. And so we want to just say um recognize your leadership. So what I'll do is I'll I'll say the names and I'll let let you guys give them the awards and then we can have the group of
students stand for pictures and then school committee can join them afterwards. Okay. So, for our um students who rang the bell and we have Melissa Vasquez,
Derek Hernandez, [applause] Vivana Bermudez, >> [applause] >> Maria Adams, [applause] Ericelli Rodriguez, Justinia Rodriguez, and then for our students who
participated in the Chelsea Reeds on a very on a on a Saturday morning very early. Uh, we have Bana, [applause] Sarah Landa, Vi
[applause] Harris, Harris, Sakokco, [applause] Gabrielle Florian, >> [applause] >> Faruk Mahil, [applause] Chris Gonzalez,
and David Rodas. [applause] So, if we can get a picture with Oh, and Miss Erin Murray, you have to be in the And Aaron is Erin, Miss Murray is the uh
sponsor and she's a teacher at Chelsea High School and she's amazing and she uh >> and she tried >> and she she tried. You're going to be in the picture. >> If we can wait. If we can have school committee come up now. School committee
was >> everyone come back. >> All student all our students come back. >> Come back up. She was very nice. Uh our next recognition is our name, strength, and story awards. And uh we and in in Chelsea public schools, we h
we say that we will know our students by name, strength, and story. And part of the reason why we've adopted this is because we know that when we know our students by name, that means that we know who you are and we if we know your story, then we really know who you are.
So that way we can understand um our students and build relationships with our students because we know that if we build relationships with students, they will want to come to school and they feel that they belong and that
contributes to overall student performance. And so we really want to know our students by name, strength, and story. And we want to know our educators by name, strength, and story. And then we want to honor our educators who know
our students by name, strength, and story. And so this nomination is actually came from Mr. G um Randy Graal Ghal from um Hooks Elementary. And
this goes to Brian Finalees. And so [applause] [applause] I'm I'm just I'm gonna read what Rand Randy wrote, but I also will say a few things about Brian. We would like to nominate Brian Palees, Hook's
principal clerk for the name, strength, and story award. Brian consistently goes above and beyond for our students and families. He knows every student at Hooks. Not just first names, but their last names, too. Whenever anyone has a
question about a student or a family or can't can't quite remember someone's name, all we need to do is ask Brian. He always know. He always knows. Brian has built strong connections with our students. Everybody knows how much he
loves Stitch, including me. And it's not uncommon to see students proudly bring him pictures they've colored to add to the growing collection around his desk. We've all contributed to his stitch collection, including myself. A proud
Chelsea High School graduate, Brian continues to give back to the community through his involvement in the arts department, helping to put together incredible plays and supporting students beyond our school walls. And as a matter of fact, Brian, we wanted to honor you
in December, but we couldn't because that was the first night of the play because you were busy working the play. So, we had to do we did this. We're doing this in January because you were busy. When we think about truly knowing people by name, strength, and story, we think
about Brian. He embodies what this award represents every single day. Okay. So, Brian, thank you um for knowing our students by name, strength, and story. So, [applause] [cheering] [applause]
[applause] because today it's 40° like summer. >> Yeah, you don't even need Yeah. >> Okay. And our next name, strength and story award. And
I'm going to go ahead. You know what? I'm actually going to have Miss Martinelloo do this one. Michelle, do you want to read what you wrote because I think it'll be more meaningful if you do it. Thank you. Good evening everybody.
So I have the pleasure of awarding Asari Ramos from the right science and technology academy with the name strength and story award. Isari has been a beloved member of the Wright community for many years, beginning her journey as a dedicated paraprofessional before stepping into
her current role as the teacher in the functional academics class. Known for her warm smile and kind heart, Assari brings joy and positivity to everyone around her. Her students absolutely adore her and it's easy to see why. She has endless patience, a deep sense of
compassion, and an incredible ability to see the greatness in every child she teaches. and I've personally experienced that as her former principal. Recently, Asari and her class alongside her colleagues launched the Sip and Howell Coffee Shop, a wonderful new initiative that gives her students the chance to
practice valuable life and vocational skills while spreading happiness throughout the school. This project perfectly respects reflects Asar's passion for creating meaningful inclusive opportunities for her students. Asari Ramos is a true joy to work with and an inspiration to all who
know her. Right. And Chelsea public schools are so lucky to have her. [applause] Let's go, guys. >> [applause] [applause and cheering] >> Okay, we'll move on to school committee. minutes. Um, can I get a motion for approval of the minutes of the regular
meeting on December 4th? That seems like so far away. >> And the special meeting on December 18th, which are enclosure A. >> I will make a motion to approve the minutes. >> A second. >> Thank you. Um, we'll move on to public
comment if there's any. Would anyone like to make any comments? Hi everybody. Can you say your name? >> Yep. My name is Katherine Anderson. I live at 15 Powder House Terrace in Somerville. Um I am a middle school teacher at the Brown Middle School and also the president of the Chelsea
Teachers Union. Um, and I just wanted to take a moment at this first school committee meeting of the year to um, say welcome to our new school committee member. Um, and welcome back to all the school committee members who are returning. Um, I'm really excited to see what we have in store for us for Chelsea
Public Schools in 2026. We are building up off of such a strong foundation of building in community voice and reaching out to our parents, to our families, bringing them into the schools. I'm really looking forward to see how we continue building on that um over the next few months. I know it's going to be
a tough budget cycle, but I really have faith in all the work that we've done um to build our community and to build the the voices that we have. Um and I'm looking forward to seeing what how creative we can be and how hopeful we can be in in light of difficult times.
So, thank you. >> Thank you so much. Is there anyone else that would like to make any public comment? Okay, seeing no others, we'll move on to the report of the superintendent of
schools and I'll pass this on to Dr. Ala >> I'm gonna actually turn it over to this Dr. Blake Cany to go over our indicators of success. And so um for a new school committee members every month we present
indicators of success. These indicators are actually tied to the strategic plan in different priority areas. And this is the way we hold ourselves accountable. And so um Dr. Blake Kanty I'll go ahead
and let you present the indicators for December. >> Thank you Dr. A just a reminder that our indicators of success offer us a transparent way to measure our progress
to celebrate our growth and to identify where additional support or adjustment is needed. It also reinforces our dedication to deliver on our promises to our families and all of our beautiful
students. Tonight I have three indicators of success to share out. I will be sharing out daily attendance, dropout and mobility rate.
Our first indicator daily attendance and all of our indicators are connected to our priority of rigorous and culturally relevant instruction for all students.
In terms of daily attendance, preK through 8th grade shows strong outcome at above 90% on average. High school is holding steady close to
77% on average for the month of December. For our indicator 10, our high school dropout, we're at 1.96%. This represents the second lowest rate across the six years that we've been
looking at our dropout rate. It indicates that nearly all students are remaining enrolled and progressing towards completion. Our last indicator, our mobility rate
for the month of December at the ELC, we had six students in for exit, signaling a strong early learning stability during a critical time of their development. At the elementary level, we had 18
students in, eight exit, showing healthy enrollment and m maintainance on an ability to absorb new students without significant turnover. At our middle school, we had 12 students
in, seven out, supporting consistent instructional programming and student engagement. at our high school, six students in and 13 students out. Overall,
um, cumulatively from September till current, we've had 297 students in, 169 students out. That is a difference of
128. So we have been able to retain 128 students. Thank you. >> I have a question. Um thank you so much uh Dr. Tamar Blake Kanti. Is this number 128 uh similar to what we were seeing last year or is this
um high? Yeah. Is this similar? Is this higher lower during this time? I don't know if you know that off top of your head. I'm just curious. I don't have that data off the top of my head. Um, but I'm happy to get it for you. Also too, um, Veronica shares all the date
data with us so we can all go back and look in our, um, emails, but I'm happy to get that data and give it to Dr. who will relay it on to you. >> Beautiful. Thank you so much. >> You're welcome. >> Yes, it's in the Google Drive.
>> So, And Johnny, just for reference, if you looked at the end of year total for 2425, you can see that we had 725 students come in and then 621
go out. So that's aboutund4 student. So it's about the same. >> Yeah. >> One of the reasons why we we track mobility is because we recognize that we have a very mobile community. And so we have many students coming in and a lot
of students going out. And so we do track that just so we can see like like we we lost we're we're gaining students but we're also losing students but we're keeping more that come in than than we lose >> even.
>> Yes. >> And it and it it just goes to show that the patterns of of immigration too because we're a gateway community. We get the when when immigrants come to this country, oftentimes we're the first
stop and then families will move out of Chelsea. >> Yes. >> You're welcome. >> Awesome. >> Awesome. Um, happy new year and thank you so much for this report. Um, I was
looking at the districtwide daily attendance for the high school in particular for the month of December. Um, I noticed overall year to date we're hovering around like 80%. Um, but for the month of December, it seems like we're um, hovering around like 76 to
78%. I'm wondering if you could give a little more context as to some additional initiatives that we may be giving to support the high school um, and their attendance rate for the month of December and moving forward. I can actually bring up um Miss Martineelo for that question since she
oversees secondary. >> I was prepared to answer why I dated. >> Kati, can you just repeat your question so I understand it clearly, please? >> Yeah, definitely. So, I'm looking at the district-wide daily attendance particularly for grades 9 through 12 for the month of December and notice that
the dates are hovering around 76 to 78% which is lower than the rest of the district. And wondering if you can share a little bit more context as to that lower attendance rate and maybe some additional initiatives that we're giving to our high schoolers to support them throughout the rest of the school year.
>> Yes. Um, so we have noticed a dip in attendance at the high school right now. Currently, we have our director of counseling and our director of social work running house meetings in conjunction with our attendance officer. So, we look at our attendance officer as the tier three support, but we're really
working to build systems around that tier three support so that we're intervening sooner. So, before we're sending a 10-day letter, having counselors call home, get stu students and families in, and start to talk about what's preventing them from attending school. So, we're in the process of doing that. We just filled out a doodle
poll to bring everybody together. um to have sort of a mid-year check-in around what's going on because we have seen a decline in our attendance and Dr. Jennings as well as myself and Mr. Hian are all working together collectively with the principal and the staff at the high school to address that. Um and in
terms of talking with the attendance officer today, he has we actually spoke about this this morning. Um he has a lot of ideas on how to be proactive. So we're going to use him on a consult model because we really focus on tier three with our attendance office. How do we bring them in earlier and start
focusing on a more proactive way to to attack attendance? >> Thank you so much. Appreciate you. >> Sure. >> All right. >> Miss Martinalo, sorry. Are we still um I know last year when we
were talking about um with Mr. Corangelo and everything. Um, as far as the truency was concerned, um, we were con we were considering and we spoke about um, and I know that our student reps are here as well, so we can probably gauge as well um, some of the um, just methods
of communication that we were having at the high school. um when um I know that there's been a spike in um well health issues as well between flu and other um
instances. So I know that if a student is absent, we were giving um parents and the student after a certain age the ability to call and report the absence um themselves. I know that at the high school level, correct
me if I'm wrong, depending on the um class because we have students that go in at different periods depending on their class times that the the breakdown for the attendance at the high school level, it might look a little different versus other students um based on the
periods. Would that also fluctuate um that sheet or the percentage? >> Yes and no. So the high school and the middle schools use period attendance. Okay. So it triggers an absence if you're absent for three or more periods. Okay. >> I think what we're looking at right now
is trying to decipher the kids who are truly absent versus the kids who are in school but not attending class. >> Okay. >> So and you can look at that and break down the data using the period attendance. And I'm only mentioning that because I know that for example, if you're not at a period by a certain time
or if you're marked absent or you're perhaps late by the time that um Aspen goes or at least in my child's um classroom and you the attendance was already called and then you get there afterwards, it might also um say that.
So you have to go ahead and make sure that it was rect you know corrected or whatnot. So >> the clerks usually send out period rosters to say you haven't posted your attendance or you have and we're noticing a discrepancy. So we're really depending on our clerks to be sort of
the second check on that system, but both middle and high school do use period attendance. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, John. >> One last question. Sorry, Miss Martinelloo. Um I'm just wondering if this if there's like a I know this is like a monthly average. I'm wondering if
there if we're seeing specific dates, right? like is this leading up to Christmas and I know we won't have January until next month. Um but I'm just thinking about like our students, you know, just not coming because they're extending their vacations or has that has that pattern presented itself or is it just
>> So we actually just had the attendance meeting at the high school by day Fridays and Mondays kids are absent more often, right? Um we the there was an attendant there was a decline in attendance right around the break. we would have no way to know unless parents were sending notifications to the high
school in terms of we're taking an extended vacation or whatnot. I'm not I don't want to misspeak. I'm not too sure, but we did look at daily attendance and the uptick seem to be on the Mondays and the Fridays. >> Okay, cool. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> And I've actually done some research on
this and that is a national trend that at the high school level a lot of students attendance um has decreased because they've extended vacation along with the flu season. because I thought that was alarming too because typically we're in the 85 percentile average. So
it was interesting that we were at 77%. >> So definitely we're watching it and it should jump back up in January. If it doesn't jump back up then we're then we'll all be at the high school calling families. [snorts] >> Thank you.
>> Exactly. We'll just all sit here. Does anyone else have any questions for this section? No. Okay, great. Thank you. And next is the student rep updates. My favorite part of the school committee
meeting. >> Um, good morning, Dr. Beta, Chairwoman Hernandez, and school u school committee members. Um I just want to give a few quick updates on what's been happening with the class of 20 26 and also just student activity in general. Uh first we
recently have finalized our class hoodies. Uh we are just in the process of getting them done. Um but also kind of presenting them to our class. Um but it's been great to see students excited about something that represents our class and helps build build um our school spirit. We also sent out the
survey for prom themes and we want to get student input early in the planning process and they haven't heard on the prompty yet because it's going to be announced tomorrow at the senior assembly. But I did wanted to announce that the prom team is going to be masquerades um with an outstanding like
um I think it was like 60% of students. Uh so that's pretty pretty good. Um so yeah, we're going to be announcing that tomorrow at assembly and we're excited for that. um especially this year is 2026 and it's our graduating year, our our year of just, you know, the final
year. So, it's very exciting to to know that um we're getting kind of senior year done with, right? Um I also wanted to kind of highlight the boys basketball team. Um they're on a winning streak and they're playing a game right now as we speak. Um >> they won. So, we we continue.
>> They are now 6 and0. >> So, yeah, that's an undefeated right now. We're undefeated. boys basketball team is undefeated. Um, and I remember I was talking to the main office and we were just talking about how Chelsea's sports are just rising up. We're going up. Um, and that's really exciting to
see. Um, so yeah, I also wanted to just kind of mention um the the winter dance that also happened in December. Um, the junior class hosted it which was a class of 27. They worked really hard, were planning um a lot and it was a success.
U students had fun. There was the photo shoot part. Um, and overall the students loved the dance. The DJ was great and yeah, we had a lot of fun. Um, lastly, I wanted to just highlight the toy drive in which u many students volunteered in with Sal Dominico. Um, we started with a
room full of toys and ended with a bag um trucks filled with toys ready to be distributed. It was really powerful to see students come together to support families during the holiday season. Um overall these initiatives have been have been about increasing student engagement um giving a student voice and continuing
to build a strong sense of community at our school. Thank you. >> All righty. Good evening Dr. Oa Chairwoman Hernandez and school committee members. I'll be giving an update about a trip to Staples headquarters and I will also be speaking about senior life. I went to Staples
headquarters with students from my Bunker Hill Community College early college program who are interested in business. During our visit, we learned about the many positions within the company and how teamwork plays a key role in making a large franchise like Staples successful. It was very motivating for the students to hear
directly from employees about their career paths and how they reach their current roles. As I left Staples, I felt content and inspired because I was able to shadow what my headquarters would look like in my future, and I saw firsthand the planning and effort that goes into bringing a company to success.
All of the students enjoyed learning about Staples through the interactive activities we participated in. Students met with the director of furniture to learn how the process of building things happens and how they progressively improve. It was especially interesting to learn about the many companies Staples collaborates with, such as those
involved in creating hand sanitizer, packaging, and paper towel dispensaries. It was mind-blowing to see how everyday products we often overlook, require extensive designing, meetings, and decision-making to bring them to life. Overall, the visit was unforgettable and inspire an inspiring experience for our
students. After many years of senior graduation day printed on our report cards, we can finally say that 2026 has arrived. Many students are looking forward to the exciting events that will take place during our senior year and the opportunities that lie ahead. As regular
decision submissions come to an end, many students have received college acceptances and some have already committed to their future schools. At the same time, many students now have a clear sense of what they want to study and the paths they hope to pursue. Students are preparing to succeed at the colleges they will attend and in the
future that they are working towards. Good evening Dr. Aveda Chairwoman Hernandez and school members, school committee members. Um, today I'll be talking about our winter play, Rumors, the Chelsea High School's winter play by the drama department club, and how
helpful and our and supportive our wonderful teachers and educators and just in general Chelsea public schools like community have been to like the seniors especially. I think that the seniors are very in a state of anxiousness, happiness, and it's really nice to know that we have teachers to
basically encourage us. And then I'll just be talking about how I personally felt post um winter break coming back from school and the transition of going from a relaxed state of mind to getting right to work right away. Okay. [clears throat] The first thing was the
wonderful production of Rumors. I it it was so beautiful to me. I loved every single moment of it. Building my connections with my people and just in general being able to bring a smile. It it was just a magical experience. and being able to bring my character to
life, which was Glenn Glenn Cooper who was running for state senate. It was just it's my character was just so mean and it felt so wonderful. Being able to bring so much laughter and joy to my community brought me immense happiness and I'm really grateful to be
in such a supportive community. I know Dr. VA came in. Our chairwoman Hernandez also came in the night before the the show premiered and I knew that they talked about how lovely the set was. And yeah,
secondly, I wanted to speak about our Chelsea High School students. I've personally been very stressed about school and college in general and especially with the transition of going into college. All of my teachers have been completely supportive of every action and move I've been doing, reassuring me every step of the way,
checking up on me every time I seem to be down. My teachers have just in general been a strong support system that's helped me very dearly. And then lastly, as the students return from winter break, I certainly can see all the pressure that is starting to rise. A lot
of seniors are preparing for AP exams, college applications or decisions. prom and other fun events our wonderful class officers have in store for us. The second semester is where seniors finally start seeing small glimpse of our futures, ending one experience to start
another. We want [snorts] I'm sorry. We We're just seeing like a whole bunch of excitement in our lives and I think it's starting to really get to us. Um we want nothing but to put our best foot forward. It's important for
everyone to be supportive in these moments of pressure and having a lot of groups, organizations, and peers who have always been such a big help. As a CHS student myself, it makes me feel relief knowing that my school is 100% ready to support me and my peers in anything. Thank you.
Thank you so much for those updates. They were great. Um, the play was amazing. I brought my granddaughters with me and they absolutely loved it. I went with Maida and my two granddaughters and they were in awe and
they we laughed so much with it. It was so funny and they did you guys did such an amazing job. I felt such pride watching it. Um, so thank you. Thank you so much. I'll hand it back over to Dr. Alvea.
Yes, I will ditto that. It was I I think I I laughed the whole time and then the set I we we popped in while the set was being made because I didn't know what was going on >> and I I I'm like where is all this wood coming from? And then I'm thinking who's
paying for it? And um cuz I know we don't have that much money and then it was explained to me that one of the students um parents owns a a construction company and he he had his
workers come in and build the set for the kids and it was stunning. So, um, >> thank you so much. >> I know. So, our family's engagement at it at its finest and it was it was just beautiful.
>> Such a professional. It looked like a Broadway stage. >> Yeah. >> Dr. Abda and I walked in and we were like, >> you can watch it on Chelsea Community Cable if I'm not mistaken. >> We walked in and we were like I was like, help me. I didn't know we had
this. Where did this all come from? And then she was telling me and I was in such awe and and so happy to know that there was that the parents out there were so supportive of their child to do this. I just want to bring this back to
when I sat there in my original well I call it my inquisition but when I when I sat there and I told you guys the Chelsea community and the parents of this community if we are told what our children need we will step up all we
need to know is what is needed and we will find a way to know how we can be included >> and we will show up for our kids. >> Yes. Absolutely. I I second that. >> Thank you. >> So, yes, that was amazing.
>> Thank you. All right, I will move on to our um personnel changes. We didn't have too many changes in December. Um I always report out on the demographic data because we are always um conscious
conscientious of the fact that we are working to diversify our our um workforce. So, we have um 29% Caucasian. Um we've hired 57% Hispanic, 14 bless you.
>> 14% black and 0% Asian Pacific Islander. And if sometimes for the for our new school committee member, um we classify this by what's reported with the Office of Civil Rights. So, that's why it's
labeled this way. And then for our my last report, I h I have our enrollment. And so we ended December at 5,770 students. And so I'd like to commend
both reports to the record. And that completes my report. >> Thank you. Um at this point, we do not have any further reports to um speak on. We have
no new business which is surprising. Um [clears throat] does anyone want have any comments or announcements they would like to make at this point before we end the meeting?
>> Yes. um just inviting community members to come and support our Chelsea students who will be performing on MLK Day as a part of the Boston's Children's Choir um at Symphony 4 p.m. Um I don't know how much tickets are but I'll be there and a
couple of other folks will be there supporting um our students and I think it's going to be great. So please come along. >> Thank you. >> Yes. I would like to say that the production for the musical is now in place. The
musical is um Willy Wonka and the Ch the Chocolate Factory. So, it's really something to get excited about. If you guys love the set for Rumors, you're definitely going to love this set. Um go go support the musical as much as you can as well, just as much as we supported the play. And I do also want
to say thank you to everyone that came to the play. I think as my as it being my last show, it really did mean a lot knowing that like you guys as the school committee came and supported me and then just my family in general, it felt really nice to have all that support. So, and just adding on to some points
that it's really like kids are more they want to do more but they want the support. So, I think it's just super important to always support the students, support kids in general and thank you so much. >> What are the dates for that? um musical.
>> I believe April 4th, 5th, and 6th, but I would have to check up on that for sure. >> Okay, thank you. >> I think we see here that it's April 9th through the 11th, but I can ask for a flyer just to double check. >> Great. Um, I just want to say thank you to
everyone and you know we always want to welcome everybody to come if they have any questions, if they have any and any concerns to come and talk to us too and come to these meetings because you're going to learn a lot and you're going to
see what's going on during, you know, um, every single month that we do these um, meetings. And it's very important to hear your voices because sometimes um if you don't go to the right people then you're not going to have you know the support you need. So we are here to
support and we are here to to help and and be here working together. So thank you so much for the support and um I want to say thank you to everybody in the school committee and welcome Jake. I think um we're gonna continue doing the
hard work and we're gonna continue doing um the support and we're going to go beyond um I think when we work together we can see the big difference and we can see that we can nothing is impossible and we work together we can make
anything happen. So thank you so much. >> Thank you. So, I'd like to make just one announcement since everyone else has spoken. Um, I want to welcome Jake Small, our newest member. Um, and
welcome him to our lovely family. Um, I was very happy to see we had our inauguration this Monday, just um, this week, and we did it together with the city council, which was the first time since I've been here. um can't speak
before that but I can speak for the last 17 years and that was the first time and it was great. It was great. I think it was very moving. I think it was very positive and I think um the goal is to work closely as a city um because like
our students say um students need support. They need to see that they are supported, need to see that they are loved. They need to see and not just from their family but from the schools, from the city they live in, the community that they belong to. And I
think that's when we have to come in and we have to make sure. And I said this when I was door knocking. I knocked on someone's door and they said to me, "Oh, I don't care who's on the school committee. I don't have kids." And I said, "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way." I said,
"Because the kids are the future of this city that you live in. and it's all a part of the same community, so it should matter to you. Um, and I'm sorry that you feel that way. [snorts] Um, they end after speaking with them, they ended up
signing my my petition. So, I guess I convince them of something. But, um, but I think a lot of people think if they don't have kids, they don't need to care about the schools. They don't need to care about what's happening in that whole that whole area. And what they don't understand is that it's one big
community and everything. has to do with the other. Nothing stands alone. Nothing works by itself. And I think that we need I think we get that as a as a team. And I'm really happy to see that we're going to work
hard to see if we can make everybody else see that and work together. So, I thank you for supporting us, for having faith in us, and for looking forward to this 2026, for graduation, for seeing our seniors and all of our students move
on. And I'm very proud of all of you. And I'm very proud of the kids that are coming into our schools. And I'd like to do a shout out to my eldest grandson who turns 18 today, which is scary to say, but he turns 18 today, Dante Garcia. Um,
and with that I have to say, can I get a motion? Nope. Jake wants to say something. [laughter] Yes. >> Sorry, I don't mean to take your last word. Um, >> no, no. >> Thank you so much for the warm welcome. Um, as I begin my uh first term with
this body, I want to honor the legacy of former school committee member Yenna Alfro, who uh has been a part of this group for a while. Um, I look forward to working with the school committee. Um, this is a strong team of folks who are dedicated and passionate about the youth
in our city. Look forward to working with uh community members as well as the Chelsea public school staff under Superintendent Veta's leadership. Um, I know that our uh our youth and our city's children and learners are in good hands. The best is yet to come and so
thank you so much for the warm welcome. >> Thank you. With that, can I get a motion to adjurnn? Second >> meeting adjourned.